It campaigns for the reform of the UK’s planning system to make it more responsive to people’s needs and aspirations and to promote sustainable development. Representing the views of membership organisations and individuals from local authorities, planning academics and practitioners under the policy guidance of its Policy Council, the TCPA claims to put social justice and the environment at the heart of policy debate and aims to inspire government, industry and campaigners to take a fresh perspective on major issues.

Founded by Sir Ebenezer Howard in 1899 to promote the idea of the Garden City, the TCPA is Britain's oldest charity concerned with planning, housing and the environment.[1]
The association was first called the Garden City Association, and then the Garden Cities and Town Planning Association, broadening its scope to promote town planning as well as garden cities. As such, it became the first pressure group for planning and predates the formation of the Royal Town Planning Institute.

The TCPA has been a reformist movement for over a hundred years – evidenced by its interest in fair shares in development and land value uplift; shared ownership of public open space; participative and entrepreneurial local governance; town and country planned together, and enhancement of the environment – and the need to achieve sustainable communities.
The TCPA objectives in its new Manifesto for the 21st Century,[2]
are to:

Secure a decent, well designed home for everyone, in a human-scale environment combining the best features of town and country

Empower people and communities to influence decisions that affect them

Improve the planning system in accordance with the principles of sustainable development

The TCPA occupies a unique position, bringing together those involved in the development industry, the environmental movement and those concerned with social justice. The Association prides itself on leading-edge radical thinking and problem-solving.
The Association works on a range of different activities from developing innovative policy solutions to organising a range of events and delivering training opportunities.

As part of its educational remit, the TCPA arranges conferences and study tours. The association is not only confined to England but is also involved in a range of European projects.

Building on its legacy, the TCPA has been setting out a proactive agenda around garden cities, with a positive response from the government.[3]
The association believes that a new generation of 21st century garden cities could help to solve a range of problems such as the acute shortage of housing in the UK and the need to respond to climate change [4]
Recently, the Prime Minister has made a statement outlining his support of the garden principles and drafted a prospectus on locally led garden cities.[5]Ebbsfleet has been proposed as a potential new garden city. However, although the site is well-connected it is difficult to see how it could meet all of the Garden City Principles [6] but must genuinely offer affordable homes, according to the TCPA.[7]
The Garden City Principles are:

Land value capture for the benefit of the community

Strong vision, leadership and community engagement

The long-term stewardship of assets

Mixed-tenure homes and housing types that are genuinely affordable for everyone

A robust range of employment opportunities in the Garden City itself, with a variety of jobs within easy commuting distance of homes

Beautifully and imaginatively designed homes with gardens, combining the very best of town and country living to create healthy homes in vibrant communities

Development which enhances the natural environment

Strong local cultural, recreational and shopping facilities in walkable neighbourhoods

The Green Infrastructure Partnership (GIP) brings together a network of over 300 stakeholder organisations and individuals to support the development of green infrastructure (GI) in England, identifying and developing solutions to enhance GI to strengthen ecological networks and improve communities’ health, quality of life and resilience to climate change. The GIP was launched by DEFRA in 2011 and was taken over by the TCPA in April 2014.

The Planning & Climate Change Coalition, which has been brought together by Friends of the Earth and the TCPA, includes over 60 cross-sector organisations and individuals. The Coalition has worked to ensure that the planning system makes a full contribution to meeting the climate change challenge. They have developed planning guidance and model policies on climate change for local authorities in England. The aim of the Coalition is to build a consensus amongst a wide range of stakeholders on the benefits of guidance on planning for climate change, working with local authorities, Local Enterprise Partnerships and communities. The Coalition has no core funding and no political or corporate affiliations.[8]

Clim-Cap is a two-year pan-European project funded by the EU’s Lifelong Learning Programme to develop training leading to a qualification in climate change adaptation for professionals working in construction, architecture, planning and other built environment professions. Clim-C partners consist of a network of educational providers from across Germany, the Netherlands, Hungary and Spain, along with the TCPA. Partners are:

The monthly journal Town & Country Planning provides a synthesis of thought provoking debate and astute analysis with feature articles written by expert practitioners, decision makers and academics.
They also publish a range of reports that highlights the range of their work.